Houses in the leafy suburbs of north Norwich were evacuated after an unexploded device was discovered.

Around four homes in Mallory Road, Old Catton, were cleared after police warned of a bomb threat in the area on Monday evening, according to one witness.

'It was just after 6pm,' he said. 'We didn't know what the problem was but they said it was a bomb of some sort. We were told to pack a suitcase and go.'

The man, who did not want to be identified, said he joined around a dozen other people on the street as police cordoned off the road.

'Police said it was some sort of hand grenade,' he added. 'We all had to evacuate our homes straight away, we were told to just go.

'All we could see were about four or five police cars with flashing lights on and they blocked the road off for about three hours.'

In a Twitter post, Norwich police confirmed an unexploded device had been discovered and they attended the scene with explosive ordnance disposal (EOD).

A spokesperson said the ordnance was a suspected Second World War device but that police were unsure whether the device was live.

They confirmed it had been removed by the EOD.

The houses along the short, tree-lined street sit several feet apart, and despite its close proximity to the airport the area is quiet but for the rustling of the trees and the murmur of distant cars.

Another witness on the same road, who did not want to be named, said he was 'making his tea' when police knocked on his door.

But he said the situation did not worry him, and added: 'Police just told us to go and that was all I heard, they said they found something.

'We went to our family, I think most people did and then we came back.'

It was not until Tuesday morning when he found out an unexploded device had been found close to his home.

'We are on an old RAF base, at the end of the day that could happen,' he added.